


Heavy Memories

by Raven_Ehtar



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Amnesia, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Pre-Slash, Psychological Trauma, Speculative Zora Culture, fairytale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-04 19:37:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16352933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raven_Ehtar/pseuds/Raven_Ehtar
Summary: Link and Sidon both come to the East Reservoir Lake to reminisce - Sidon to look forward with hope, Link to look back and try to see through the fogs of amnesia. Sidon tells Link a Zora fable to lift his spirits.





	Heavy Memories

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been having a really, _really_ rough couple of months, and this is more or less me just being completely self-indulgent. Enjoy the fluff! ♥

There was no knowing when the Champion of Hyrule might chance to visit. Up until a month ago, no one had thought he’d even been alive. But in that short time to become acquainted with his habits, those of the Domain had learned to expect him at any time - and yet not be disappointed if he did _not_ appear. 

Certainly it was a lesson which Prince Sidon was finding difficult to take fully to heart. Of course he knew that as a Champion, Link had more pressing matters to attend to than simply visiting. The world was in danger, Calamity Ganon was rousing himself and monsters everywhere were becoming more active, more violent. After 100 years of recovery from Ganon’s awakening, the people of Hyrule were once again in danger, and they were fewer and farther scattered than they had been a century before. It was no wonder to any why Link would feel it so strongly, the drive to repair all the damage which had been done, to fulfill his role as Champion and return the Kingdom to what it once had been. 

Sidon wondered at times if the distant look he sometimes caught in the Hylian’s eye was guilt. Guilt for the failure to perform his duty. Did he look on Hyrule and what had become of it and see only his own inability to protect it? Did he think it was his fault?

Given just how hard he drove himself, how much time and energy he dedicated to traversing the Kingdom back and forth, the Domain was lucky that Link returned to them at all. And when he was passing through, he made a point of stopping in and greeting his Zora friends, Sidon included. It was probably a way of reestablishing himself in reality, reminding himself he had such friends and making contact with them. Whatever the reasons, they - and Sidon - were always happy to see him. 

Except this time, it did not appear the Hylian knight had quite made it to the Domain proper. 

Sidon looked down on the sleeping Link, his heart at once warmed by the sight of him getting the rest he surely must need and which few ever saw him take, and yet troubled by just how close he had managed to approach the little warrior without causing him to stir. Link was a highly trained, highly skilled fighter used to living in the wilds. Surely any out of place sound would have had him waking with a blade in hand? To survive in the wilds, he would need such instincts. And yet Link had not stirred in the least; his breathing was even, his limbs all still. Perhaps he was simply too exhausted to be roused, or Sidon had approached more stealthily than he’d intended?

Or perhaps it was where Link had chosen to rest which afforded him the extra peace, the extra sense of security even as he slept. 

Across the dam of East Reservoir Lake was a place where visitors to the lake might take their rest. It was a little like the type of gazebos Hylians favored, stocked with food, washing supplies, and of course a bed where one could sit and gaze over the lake or down on the Palace. Or where one could put their head down a while and sleep, as Link was doing. 

Sidon had come to the lake out of curiosity, to see what the bottom might look like without Vah Ruta resting among the fish and silt. He wasn’t certain what he had been expecting to see, or to feel on seeing it. It seemed that something which had come to dominate so much of the Zora consciousness, a center of both pain and hope, ought to leave some sort of scar behind when it left. And while there were certainly signs of Vah Ruta’s departure, they were… less than Sidon had imagined they would be. Almost an afterthought, with the underwater tides of the lake already working to heal what Vah Ruta’s departure had caused. The lake was already working to forget it had been home to a Divine Beast, and his sister’s spirit, for an entire century. 

When he had surfaced and made his way to the overlook spot, his heart a muddle and head much the same, he’d found Link. 

The warrior’s gear was shucked off and lain in a mostly neat pile off to a side, with evidence of a quick meal having been eaten right on top. Several weapons were left conspicuously within reach. A wicked, medium length blade lay practically in Link’s sleeping grip and the Sheikah slate was partially tucked beneath the pillow. 

Link himself was… as vulnerable as Sidon had yet seen him. His armor was all a part of the pile along with the rest of his gear, leaving him in only a light pair of trousers. He slept curled on his side, on top of the covers, his feet bare and torso exposed. Without intending to, Sidon found himself studying, tallying, and then marveling at the number of scars such a small body could boast. Scars were not a thing to be ashamed of among Zora, as he knew they could be among other races. Rather they were proof that one had faced a challenge and been proven the stronger - and made even stronger by the encounter. Sidon wore his scars as proudly as he wore his armor or his spear, each one a story to be told to those who wished to hear. 

Link’s body was a veritable library of past battles. He was so small, the sheer strength of him to have survived it all… 

Yet in sleep he seemed so soft, despite the scars. Curled up on his side, body lax, his hair unbound and splayed across the pillow in a golden halo, it was hardly the image one expected when one thought of ‘Hyrule’s Greatest Warrior.’ Sidon knew for a fact that the Hylian was soft to the touch. When they’d worked together to get him aboard Vah Ruta, he’d been shocked at just how delicate Link’s skin had felt. In a way it was no wonder he sported so many scars, when he felt as fragile as flower petals. How did Hylians survive with hides so thin?

Abruptly realizing that he was staring at the sleeping Link and how rude it was to intrude on him in a private moment - even if the intrusion were never discovered - Sidon turned his eyes away. Instead he examined the resting area itself, taking note of those things which would need to be restocked or cleaned. There were those who checked regularly, but it would do no harm to let them know ahead of time. 

Still feeling a little as though he were intruding on his friend, Sidon left the gazebo and walked out onto the dock which stretched over the lake. He took a seat at the very end and dangled his feet into the water, looking out towards the eastern peaks.

Those who were old enough to remember would talk sometimes about how the dock was once used for more than a diving board. How once, when other races were more in the habit of travel - when it had been safer to do so - the dock on the lake had been used to tie up little boats. Occasionally they would be used for fishing, but that was generally discouraged given the local population. Most of them had been little more than pleasure crafts. Boats just large enough for perhaps two people after they’d been lined with cushions, pushed out onto the lake to float free while those aboard simply enjoyed the gentle rocking, the sounds of water lapping against the hull, and the peace of being unmoored to anything. Sidon allowed himself to fantasize of such peace returning someday. Of visitors and drifting boats, of such security one might safely doze while floating free. 

And there were other tales, as well. Tales of how lovers would come to the top of the dam and enjoy all of the quiet and privacy it offered. How they would indulge in the conveniences of the gazebo, the beauty of the view, and in each other. Word had it that the spot was still used for such trysts - but as with the rest, not nearly so often as it had once been. 

Sidon was startled out of his thoughts by a touch on his shoulder. He whipped round, wondering what it was which had crept up on him--

“Ah! Link!” Sidon smiled, forcing his heart back into its proper place. Link was awake, a worn tunic thrown on and his hair pulled back into a very messy knot, but otherwise just as he had been before. Bare feet went to explain his silent approach. After his own little bout of spying he supposed it was fair to be snuck up on in return. “I apologize if I disturbed your rest.”

Link shook his head, waving a hand dismissively before signing, [I’ve slept long enough.]

Sidon frowned. Sitting as he was, they were eye to eye, and it was much easier to make out the warrior’s expressions than when they were standing and he had to look so far down to see Link’s face. It was much easier to see how tired he still looked. Link had pale skin, and Sidon had learned that when there were dark smudges under the eyes it meant exhaustion. And, though it might be because he had just risen, his signing was a little… soft. The motions slow and slurring a little. 

“Are you certain?” He began adding signing along with his speech. It felt more polite that way, though Link’s hearing as a Hylian was better than the majority of Zora, but adding his own precise motions it would help make his point. “If you would prefer I leave so you might rest easier…”

Link scowled at him, his blue eyes flaring more to life. [I’m sure, _Prince,_ ] he signed with a particularly snappish draw across his body for the title. [More sleep now will gain me nothing but more ground to make up later. Besides,] he added with a softening of his features, turning to look out over the lake. [I would prefer not to be alone.]

“Oh.” For a moment Sidon was at a loss for what to say. He thought of how often Link must find himself completely alone, and while the little Hylian seemed better suited to that sort of lifestyle than most, it must wear on him after a while. After all, Hylians usually gathered in groups just like Zora, and whether he remembered it or not, Link had once been a part of a very special group. He was never meant to be as alone as he was now. “I didn’t realize you had come so near the Domain,” he said at last, matching words with motions. “I would have been here sooner had I known. To keep you company.”

It earned him a slightly distant smile and a barely there headshake. [I arrived late last night. Would have come down this morning, but…] He motioned back to the bed, a clear indication that sleep had descended on him swifter than expected and had kept a tight hold on him. It was nearly noon, now. 

“I understand.” Sidon glanced about. “From which direction have you travelled?”

Link pointed behind them and slightly to the left. [Akkala.]

It was Sidon’s turn to frown at the warrior, though he did not deign to notice. “Akkala? To come straight from there would mean you had to climb the cliff faces - and that would land you directly into the mountain range.”

The warrior shrugged, his face a blank. Sidon had to hold in a frustrated huff. He’d thought, with Link’s many visits, that the two of them were making real strokes towards a genuine friendship, towards something more than just acquaintances whose histories were tangentially tangled with one another. But Link was closing himself off, Sidon could feel it, and as much as he might wish to, he had no real right to force him back open again. Though he _would_ make some complaint. “Surely you could have tracked west around the cliffs and then followed the river upstream?”

For a while Link made no move to reply, and Sidon worried that he had already closed himself off entirely, retreating into silence and stillness rather than give his reasons why he would put himself through such unnecessary hardship. Rather than tell Sidon what it was that was eating away at him, he would make himself alone as he stood beside a friend. 

Eventually, though, Link gave a sigh and sat down beside Sidon. It meant they were no longer eye to eye, but both of them sitting communicated much more ease than Link remaining on his feet.

[It was faster to climb than to go around,] he signed. [And I didn’t want to wait to get back here.]

Sidon tilted his head at the warrior. “To the Domain?”

[The lake.] Link glanced up at the prince, then gave another little sigh. He had an aversion to speaking very much about himself, it had always seemed, and such was the case now as well, given how forced his motions looked as he explained. [I… got some more of my memory back. From before. Before Ganon came. They made me want to come back here and… be closer to them.]

Sidon nodded. That was right. To Link the passage of 100 years had occurred in a blink, having slept through them all in a healing stasis after meeting Calamity Ganon in battle. Or it would have, had time not taken the few years he had lived before away from him. He had healed, but his memories eroded, so he awoke to a world and responsibilities he could no longer remember. Yet he still went on, just as though he _did_ remember. Apparently his Hero’s heart was just the same, regardless if he remembered who he was. 

In a way, Sidon almost wished that those memories he had lost would _stay_ lost. Link might have lost his past, but it seemed to have no effect on his personality, and to remember what had been before, surely that would bring only pain? Practically everyone Link had ever known was long since dead and buried. What was to be gained from remembering just how alone he was? 

But that was an ungenerous thought, and Sidon did his best to banish it. Link was one of the very last standing of his old life, and he deserved to at least _remember_ his friends. They might be beyond his reach now, but how much worse would it be to not even remember them, to effectively never have known them at all? Sidon tried to imagine it, to put himself in Link’s position of being detached from everyone around him, of all his companions being as strangers to him, and his heart ached. No, he could not, in earnest, wish that Link’s memories remain a mystery, even though the recollection of them must cause some hurt. 

Sitting in silence, both kicking their bare feet in the water, Sidon allowed himself to wonder. He wondered if the reason Link returned to the Domain more than was strictly necessary was because here was where there were the most faces he might recall from his past, folk who remembered him and greeted him with smiles. He wondered, though he knew better than to actually inquire, what memory it was he had recalled, and why it had driven him here in such haste. What memory drove him to the lake, rather than to the Domain proper? Perhaps those tales Sidon had been musing over only a few minutes ago had more truth than not, and Link had returned to the lake in order to more clearly relive those peaceful times. 

Had he and Mipha enjoyed calm days here, paddling about in the water or floating along its surface in a little vessel? Before Vah Ruta had been discovered and their roles so clearly defined as protectors of Hyrule, had they simply enjoyed each other’s company in this very spot? After, would they have snuck away, stolen moments for themselves to relax in each other’s company? Had they taken advantage of the solitude here, as apparently so many others had, and come together as lovers…?

He shook the thought away. It was none of his business, and impolite at best to think of his sister and his friend in such a way. 

“No wonder you slept so long,” he said in an attempt to redirect his own thoughts. “After such an arduous journey, I’d say you more than earned it!”

[I climb a lot, it’s not hard. Carrying heavy memories… that gets tiring.]

“Ah…” Sidon looked out over the lake, but his focus was internal, trying to recall something he hadn’t thought of in years. “Do you know, there are tales told to Zora children about the dangers of heavy memories? There are several versions all following the same theme, but…”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw when Link looked over at him, a curious cant to his brows. Sidon hid his smile. “Would you like to hear it?”

Link nodded. 

Grin widening, Sidon began to weave the tale, layering spoken words with motion, hoping that would impart any animation and life the telling itself might lack. 

“Once, it is said, long in the past, there was a young Zora. Perhaps they were Royal, perhaps not. To this story, it doesn’t really matter. This Zora experienced, as many do, hardships throughout their life. Unlike their peers, however, this Zora found that they could not put down those experiences which brought such sadness, nor the sadness itself. They held all of it close, even closer than those experiences which could lighten their heart and bring them joy. As a result, the young Zora’s feelings sank further and further, until all of their friends could not help but notice it. And while they did try to lighten their friend’s mood, nothing worked. 

“Eventually the young Zora was approached by an older Zora. Either their parent or a trusted elder, depending on the tale. This elder had heard of the troubles of the young Zora, had seen its effects, and felt the need to offer counsel.

“’Young one,’ the elder said, ‘I see you are weighted with the burden of events long passed, of actions and their consequences of which you possess no power to change. You must not carry these things with you for so long. Remember and learn, but do not hold them so jealously. Let your heart be light again, observe the changes about you and be joyful you are the wiser for those lessons learned. If you do not learn to let go,’ the elder warned, ‘the weight you carry will grow too much, and will sink you down into darkness.’

“The young Zora thanked the elder for their counsel, but found the task of enacting out the advice a difficult one. They had grown too used to their sadness and knew not how to shed it. It was a part of them, they felt, and to give it up would mean giving up a piece of who they were.

“So they continued on, and as hardships, disappointments and sadness came to visit, as they always did, the Zora gathered them up, collecting them just as one might collect stones or shells. With each addition, just as with stones, no matter how small, the weight grew. 

“It came about that one day, many years later, the young Zora was obliged to make a long trip to the sea. The sea is a dangerous place, even for Zora, but they went well prepared for their journey, armed with spears and wise advice. Why they went also depends upon the tale - some say for treasure, others that they meant to slay a giant monster.

“When they arrived, their breath was stolen by sight of the sea and its enormity. Though they kept true to their quest, they could not help but be drawn to the sights they had never before seen in rivers or lakes. Mighty reefs of coral, schools of fish in every color and shape, and just the sheer size of the sea. It was enough to make any Zora marvel, and they were no exception. 

“When their quest was fulfilled and it was time to return, the young Zora decided that before they began the journey home, they would take some time for a last exploration. They knew not how long it would be before they would return to the sea, and they wished to keep those memories clear and close. 

“They swam out far and wide, espying any number of wonders along the way, and always pushing out further and further - further than was wise. After some time, the young Zora wished to see just how far out they could go, wanted to know what such vast and open currents might taste like. So they swam out and out, ever more into the open sea, until they noticed the deep darkness below them. They had swum out so far that the seabed was beyond their sight, lost to the depths. They had never been in such deep waters before, and they remained in place, transfixed by the yawning abyss. It was almost as though the darkness were reaching for them, and it was with a little shock that the Zora realized that it wasn’t just an illusion. The darkness reached up, and they were sinking down. Weighted like an anchor with the memories soaked in melancholy which they had collected, they began to sink into the darkness.”

Sidon paused a moment, wondering how to continue. Before he could decide, Link looked up at him. [And then what happened?]

It got Sidon to smile. It seemed he’d succeeded in drawing Link into the story, at least. “It depends on which version is being told. In one the young Zora realizes what it happening, and fights against the pull and escapes. Their experiences in the sea had helped to lighten their burden, putting down old hurts to pick up lighter, more buoyant recollections of what they discovered. In another they struggle, but they had never laid down their burdens, and so sank to the bottom no matter how hard they fought. And in another, they sank to the bottom willingly, thinking that since they carried nothing but heavy memories and darkness, they belonged as a part of the seabed. In that one I believe the Zora was meant to transform into a monster, calling more to them who could hear their melancholy song.”

When Link made no response to the ending of the story, Sidon cast him a sideways glance. “Whatever the ending, the lesson it’s meant to teach stays the same.”

[Avoid big holes?]

“Do not hold on to what cannot help you and which you cannot change.”He looked out over the lake. “I miss my sister,” he said quietly. “Very much. If I allowed it, my sadness might weigh me until I too sank to the bottom, too heavy to rise again. But rather than hold my sadness, I try to remember only the joy I knew in her presence. Mipha was strong, courageous and gentle, and I looked up to her. I try my hardest to be as I remember her, to make her spirit proud of me. And though I _am_ sad she is not with me now, I try to let that go, and remember her smile instead.”

The silence which followed went on for some time, but eventually Link’s expression lightened into a smile. [You’re a good friend, Sidon. And I’m glad you’re here.]

Sidon grinned, the uncertain tension in his chest melting away with the warmth which washed over him. “With that story, there’s an exercise we teach our children as well, to help keep the sad thoughts under control.”

Link’s eyes sparkled up at him, blue as pools or a clear sky. [Oh?]

Searching the dock around them quickly, he found what he wanted and snatched them up. In the palm of his hand he held up two pebbles for Link to see. The warrior looked at them, and then turned a quizzical eye on him. 

“When one is feeling sad and heavy, we tell our children to think of whatever it is which is making them feel so while holding a stone.” He picked up one of the pebbles with his opposite hand, and after a slight hesitation Link took the other. “While they’re thinking of the memory, they’re to imagine all their sadness leaving them and pouring into the stone, leaving only the light and buoyant parts of the memory behind.” His smile went crooked and he gave a half shrug. “It’s a little simplistic, but it’s a good exercise for children, and teaches them to take whatever good they can from even sad experiences.”

Link was staring down at his pebble, frowning slightly as though the innocuous little thing confounded him. After a moment he looked up. Still holding the pebble he managed to sign out, [What do they do with the stones afterwards?]

“Once one had loaded the stone with as much of their own sadness as they can,” he paused, and squinted at his own pebble, going through an internal routine which had been familiar since his youngest years. “They thank the stone for bearing their burden, the sadness for the lessons it taught, and then…” He held out his arm over the lake, the pebble between his fingers. “They let it sink into the depths.”

Sidon released the little pebble, which hit the water with a soft _plunk_ before sinking out of sight. Link watched the process, then turned his attention to his own pebble. He held it so close to his own face that he went slightly cross eyed, which forced Sidon to smother a chuckle. After a few moments Link also stretched out his arm and let go of his pebble. Considering the weight of all the warrior had to bear, Sidon doubted such a small stone had taken on even a fraction of it, but if Link felt at all better for the exercise, it was one worth doing. 

“In the tale where the young Zora became a monster, it’s said that they collect these stones. Whatever their reason, it’s generally thought that by collecting them, they’re also protecting the memories attached to them.”

Link smiled, eyes still fixed on the place where his stone had sunk out of sight. [I like that.]

“I thought you might.” Sidon wanted to reach out, to put a friendly, comforting hand on the warrior’s shoulder, but had no idea how the contact would be received. He knew so little of Hylian customs, and even if he were an expert, he was certain that Link was unlike any other Hylian alive. He was certainly unlike anyone Sidon had ever met, and he had no wish to make the warrior uncomfortable. 

Link climbed to his feet and gave a mighty stretch, arms over head and rising up on his toes. His shirt lifted slightly, revealing a strip of pale skin all round his torso. When he opened his eyes and looked at Sidon, the Prince was overjoyed at how much clearer his expression was, how bright his eyes. 

[I feel like taking a swim. Want to join me?] He tilted his head at Sidon, a mischievous smirk pulling at his lips. [I promise I won’t sink to the bottom, now.]

Sidon responded with a full grin, showing off every one of his teeth. He leapt to his feet as well, instantly towering over the Hylian. “Of course I would! And never fear, Hero, should you begin to sink, I will lift you up again!”

Having to tilt his head back to look him in the eye, Link gave a somewhat enigmatic smile. [Yes. You do.]

He walked back to the gazebo, perhaps for some kind of gear, leaving behind a puzzled Zora staring after him, wondering what exactly he had meant.

**Author's Note:**

> As an aside, I'm using ASL as the reference for how Link signs. 
> 
> [I'm on tumblr](http://ehtarwrites.tumblr.com/) if anyone wants to come say hi or chat about nerdy things! ♥


End file.
